Colin Firth stars in The Railway Man, based on the best-selling memoir, this is the extraordinary and epic true story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labour camp during World War II. Decades later, Lomax discovers that the Japanese interpreter he holds responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him, and his haunted past. A powerful tale of survival, love and redemption, THE RAILWAY MAN stars Academy Award-winners Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, with Jeremy Irvine and Stellan Skarsgård.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

As the daughter of a Far East POW I was wondering how close to the 'real thing' this film was going to be. Dad had told me a little of what happened so I knew it wasn't going to be easy viewing. I would absolutely recommend this film to anyone who wishes to find out more about that time - there is so little compared to other WW2 experiences. It also shows the amazing ability to be able to forgive and so move on. It has made me want to visit the area myself which isn't something I could have coped with before.

Based on the true life story of Eric Lomax who was captured by the Japanese, forced to work on the impossible to build Burma Railway and tortured severely.

The movie is told in Flashbacks with Eric being played by Colin Firth as the older Lomaz whilst Jeremy Irvine puts in a stellar performance as the younger.

I was pleased Irvine looked like he was from the 1930s. If this were Holywoodized the actor would have looked ripped, tanned and from the 2000 and 10s.I do think Colin Firth, although a great actor should have been made up to look less young and prettified- but this is a minor quibble.

Nicole Kidman is wonderful in her support.She too does not look like a blonde bombshell but in this performance she demonstrates what a good actress she is- a pleasant surprise.

The torture scenes and beatings are brutal.But then they were in real life.The savage beatings with a pick axe handle the crunch of the broken bones and body hit hard- but then they should to convey the horror of just how the Japanese treated their prisoners who they considered to have 'No Honour' because they surrendered.the film could have been longer - easily but it does not waste a second in its narration of the film.

I wanted to see the picture for two reasons.Firstly I am of that generation were all our dads fought in the Second World War- the Granddads had fought in the First World War. Both my father and Uncles never talked about it. They would never give much information away about the war.

My Uncle was captured by the Japanese and forced to slave in a salt mine- it ruined his eyes.Read more ›

If you liked Bridge on the River Kwai (Sir Alec Guinness), or more recently, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (David Bowie), you'll probably like this too. This is a slightly old fashioned WWII POW drama, starring Colin Firth as a former British Army officer, who suffers from nightmares/PTSD stemming from his cruel treatment and torture as a Japanese POW in Thailand. 35 years after his harrowing experiences, and with the help of his wife (played by Nicole Kidman), Firth's character tries to get to grips with his dark history, including an encounter with one of the Japanese soldiers who was involved in his torture. The two lead characters give solid and emotional performances, and the early days of their romance, including their initial chance encounter on a train, are particularly well played. The torture scenes at the POW camp are relatively mild, probably on a par with similar scenes of brutality in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, but they are well done, and they are necessary to show why Firth's character remained haunted by those experiences for decades into the future. This is a beautifully shot movie, particularly the passages with the train journey and the POWs excavating through the land to build a roadway, which means that this is better to watch on Blu Ray rather than standard DVD.

Based on the 1995 memoir of Eric Lomax, the Royal Signals Officer who was tortured by the Japanese when deployed on the construction of the infamous Burma railway, this film uses flashbacks to show the reasons for his emotional repression with violent outbursts of post traumatic stress decades after the event. Colin Firth, a master in this kind of role, plays the older Lomax, with Jeremy Irvine putting in a strong performance as his younger self, earnest, floppy-haired and prepared with quiet bravery to take the rap for the assembly of an illicit radio receiver. Nicole Kidman assumes a convincing English accent to play the sympathetic new wife who is determined to extract Lomax from his mental agony. When Lomax discovers in the 1980s that Takashi Nagase, the young interpreter who played a key part in his torture, is still alive, working, of all things, as a guide at the Kanchanaburi War Museum (close to the famous bridge on the river Kwai) he is initially bent on revenge as a means of exorcising his demons.

I was disappointed by the first half: dialogues often seem stilted as in the "Brief Encounter" style meeting on a train between Lomax and his future wife Patti. Lomax looks much younger than the fellow officers with whom he has kept in contact, and he could have done with a few more scars and grey hairs. The sets "back home" have more of a 1950s feel than the 1980s as I remember them. Worst of all, the earlier scenes in the jungle are often confusing or hammy, apart from the final harrowing torture in the dreaded hut. Overall, the script and direction often appear wooden until the final resolution.

The film was saved for me by the second part of the film which is unpredictable, moving and well-developed.Read more ›